Cudweed

(Filago germanica) Leonard Mascall, Government of Oxen, 1587, says that cudwort was given to cattle that had lost their cud (quoted in Grigson. 1974). This plant was the herba impia, Wicked Herb, of the old botanists, wicked because of its way of growth. The main stem has its flowers at the top, but underneath this grow two or more flowering shoots, all rising above the main stem. Therein lies the wickedness, for it conveys the idea that children were "undutifully disposed to exalt themselves above the parent flower" (Pratt). Hence, too, Son-before-the-father (Grigson. 1955), and similar names.

(Kalanchoepinnata) A leaf decoction is used in St Kitts to treat hypertension, and a similar decoction is taken in the Dominican Republic to deal with intestinal infections (Laguerre). In Mexico, where the plant is called hoja fresca, they put a green leaf over each temple, for headaches (Kelly & Palerm). In West Africa, it was the custom to squeeze the juice into the mouth of a new-born baby, and an infusion was drunk by both mother and child (Dalziel).

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